Enrich Your Winter with Online Learning

A cold winter has a tendency to keep us indoors.  You may already be bored with reading books, cleaning, or doing crafts but as a lifelong learner, I would like to introduce you to something that I discovered in 2014 at coursera.org.   Coursera is an organization that provides universal access to the world’s best education partnering with top universities and organizations to offer courses online.

The two classes I have completed are Child Nutrition and Cooking from Stanford University and Nutrition Health and Lifestyle:  Issues and Insights from Vanderbilt University.   Both of these courses were available to me at no cost with the exception of some reading material pertinent to the nutrition class that I purchased digitally for a nominal fee.  I selected them for use with my food service work at Kiddie City and for a closer study of up to date nutrition information for my personal life.  There are classes for very specific learners and occupations but also the casual learner like me.

I had never taken an online class before and was so surprised at the ease in which I was able to access the information and learn at my own pace and time at my dining room table.  My courses were so professionally done and contained volumes of information.  There were opportunities to sit in on webinar sessions and lectures as well as blog with other class attendees from around the world.  Yes, there are quizzes and sometimes special projects but all were relevant to the class and to my personal life.  I was awarded certificates of achievement but there are other professional course offerings that will provide job specific in - service credit for an additional fee. 

So, take a look at the course selection and don’t be afraid to stretch your mind this winter.  Like me, you will wonder what took you so long to discover this treasure. 

Sherrie Zagorc

Sherrie Zagorc is a co-founder, volunteer and board member of Kiddie City Child Care Community.  She also is the founder and chairperson of the E. 200th Street Stroll.

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Volume 8, Issue 2, Posted 4:59 PM, 02.06.2016